Laboratory delinter



8, 1942 H. c. GRM-:BE 2,304,565

v LABORATORY DELINTER Filed Feb. 6, 1941. 4 Sheets-Sheet l v H. C. GRAEBE LABORATORY DELINTER Dec. s, 1942.

Filed Feb. 6, 1941 4 sheets-sheet 2 Mew/'Zar' Herm L D. 8, 1942. Q GRAEBE 2,304,565

LABORATORY DELINTER Filed Feb. 6, 1941 v 4 Sheets-Sheet muy.

Dec. 8, 1942.

H. c. GRAEBE LABORATORY DELINTER Filed Feb. 6, 1941 4 sheets-Sheet 4 EL A@ wat Patented Dec. 8, 1942 LABORATORY DELINTER Herman C. Graebe, Bridgewater, Mass., assigner to The Murray Company, Dallas, Tex., a corporation of Texas Application February 6, 1941, Serial No. 377,683

13 Claims.

This invention pertains to testing apparatus and relates more particularly to means for and a method of accurately determining the percentage of mechanically removable lint adherent to a sample of ginned cottonseed.

After cotton has been ginned to remove the staple-length cotton bers from the seed, the ginned seed still has adherent thereto a quantity of short bers, for instance of the order of one-quarter inch or less in length, which is thereafter removed by subjecting the seed to the action of a linter gin; the short fiber thus removed being referred to in the trade as linters This material is in demand as a ready and cheap source of soluble cellulose for use in the chemical industry, for example in the manufacture of articial silk, gun-cotton and so forth. Although cotton linters is actually a by-product of the cotton oil industry, nevertheless this br-product is of substantial value so that, in purchasing cottonseed, the oil mill is interested to know the percent of mechanically removable linters in order to determine whether the seed is oiered at an acceptable price,

Heretofore no satisfactory method of accurately and quickly determining the percent of mechanically removable lint has been available. On the one hand-determination of the percentage of lint by running a sample through the ordinary de-linter gin necessarily involves the use of a very large sample; it causes substantial delay in handling so large a quantity of seed and lint; and at best is inaccurate since such a delinter gin is not designed to operate properly when the roll-box is nearly empty; it creates a large volume of air during its operation from which the lint must be removed; and employs saws having teeth of a type which tend to remove portions of the seed hull together with the lint if it be attempted to remove the lint too completely. On the other hand, determination of the percentage of lint by chemical meansusually involves the use of samples so small, for example 10 grams of seed, as to cast doubt upon the accuracy of the determination as respects a commercial quantity of seed, and does not accurately indicate the amount of lint which can be removed by mechanical means, that is to say by the de-linter gin which is the means actually employed in the oil mill.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide laboratory apparatus operative accurately and quickly to determine the amount of lil mechanically removable lint in a given sample of ginned seed, for example a sample of 500' grams weight or the like, and so devised as not only to remove the lint thoroughly from the seed but to do so without removing an undue amount of hull substance, and which presents the lint thus removed in readily available form for weighing. A further object is to provide a'laboratory apparatus useful in determining the percent of mechanically removable lint from a sample of seed and which requires but little power to operate it and which is of such dimensions as to permit its installation in a relatively small space and upon a bench or other suitable support in the testing laboratory. Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevation showing the left-hand side of the testing apparatus with certain parts broken away and omitting the lintcollecting means;

Fig. 2 is a similar elevation showing the righthand side of the apparatus and a portion of the lint-collecting means;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section to larger scale, with certain parts broken away, the section being in a plane at right angles to the aXis of the saw shaft; v

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section, to larger scale, substantially on the line 4-4 oi' Fig. 3; l Y

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic, side elevation of one of the saws, illustrating a preferred shape of saw tooth;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section through the oat-roll; n

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary diametrical section through the saw cylinder; A

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the combined concave and grate-fall; and

Fig. 9 is a rear elevation of the seed-board.

The apparatus illustrated in the drawings is designed for laboratory use and while in many respects it resembles the ordinary de-linter gin,

Y it is of small dimensions as compared with the usual gin. For example, the frame of the devicer (exclusive of the lint-collecting housing) may be of the order of 18 inches from front to back, it may be from 8 to 10 inches wide, and approximately 20 inches high. These dimensions are not intended in any sense to be limiting, but merely 'to indicate a useful size of the device as compared with the usual gin.

v Referring to the drawings, the numeral I designates the left-hand vend frame and the numeral 2 the right-hand end frame of the apparatus. These end frames are rigidly connected in spaced relation by means of transverse rails 3, 4, etc., and also, if desired, by rigid connecting rods so located as not to interfere with the operative parts of the mechanism. The end frames support bearings 5, 6 and 1 (preferably antifriction bearings) in which are mounted respectively the float-roll shaft 8, the saw shaft 9 and the doer brush shaft I. The latter shaft extends outwardly beyond the left-hand frame member I (Fig. 1) and is provided at its outer end with a pulley Il which receives a drive belt I2. This drive belt is designed to receive power from any suitable source, for example an electric motor, not shown.v

The shafts 8, 9 and Ill project outwardly beyond the right-hand frame member 2 (Fig. 2), the shaft 9 being provided with a pulley I5; the shaft 8 with a pulley I6; and the shaft I0 with a pulley I3. An endless belt `I4 engages these pulleys and also embraces a belt-tensioning pulley I1 which turns on a stub shaft I8 mounted on the free end of a lever I9 fixed to a shaft 29 extending transversely across the machine. The stub shaft I8 is provided with a collar which supports a bail 2| carrying a weight 22. As thus arranged, the belt I4 is always properly tensioned and, receiving power from the shaft I0, drives the shafts 8 and 9 in opposite directions, Except for a movable cover member hereinafter described, the space between the upper parts of frame members I and 2 is open to permit entry of seed into the roll-box. To facilitate such entry of seed, a feed hopper is provided. This hopper comprises fixed side wall members 23, preferably of sheet metal and fixed to bars 24 (Fig. 4) which rest upon the upper edges of the frame members I and 2. These bars close vertical slots 25 and 26 (Fig. 3) leading down from the upper edges of the frame members I and 2. The slots 25 provide bearings for the opposite ends of a shaft 21 while the slots 26 provide bearings for the opposite ends of a shaft 28.

The shaft 21 has welded to it the rear edge of a downwardly concave member 29 which normally substantially closes the space between the shafts 21 and 28. One end of the shaft 21 extends outwardly beyond the frame member I (Figs. 1 and 4) and has fixed to it the rear end of a forwardly extending lever 39 carrying a weight 3| which thus tends to swing the shaft 21 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3. However, the lever 39 may be moved upwardly, thus swinging the cover member 29 upwardly and rearwardly so that its upper edge is disposed near the rear edges of members 23. In this position the members 29 and 23 form the rear and side walls of the feed hopper. Preferably the feed hopper has a front wall 29a, fixed to the shaft 28, and extending substantially from one wall 23 to the other. Thus when the member 29 is turned rearwardly, seed dumped into the hopper comprising the parts 29, 23 and 29a drops through the opening between the shafts 21 and 28 into the roll-box'. However, during the normal operation` of the apparatus the member 29 tends to swing downwardly into the roll-box and thus to press upon the mass of seed therein.

To the shaft 28 is welded the upper edge of the combined seed-board and rake-head 32. This seed-board is a unitary piece of sheet metal and is concave rearwardly, its arc of curvature being substantially circular and concentric with the axis of shaft 8. Preferably the inner surface of this seed-board is smooth and polished. The lower rear edge of this seed-board is preferably beveled to provide a knife edge 33. The lower portion of the seed-board, forwardly of the edge 33 is slotted, as indicated at 34, (Fig. 9') to permit the passage of the saws therethrough, this slotted lower portion of the seed-board constituting a rake-head. A lever 35, fixed to the shaft 28, extends forwardly and is provided with a weight 36 which tends constantly to swing the lower part of the seed-board inwardly and rearwardly and thus to compress the seed within the rollbox.

The rear concave or rear wall 31 of the rollbox is preferably of sheet metal comprising an upper forwardly concave curved portion provided with ears 38 near its upper edge which receive fastening means by which it is secured to the opposite frame members I and 2. If desired, the connecting means may be such as to permit the lower part of the concave to be swung upwardly and forwardly. Preferably a. brace member 39, secured to the rail 4, is provided in order to strengthen the concave. From approximately the point 49 (Fig. 3) the member 31 slopes downwardly and forwardly, the curvature between the points 49 and 4l being of substantially greater radius than that of the upper part 31, while from the point 4I to its forward edge, the member 31 is substantially straight. The lower, forward marginal portion of this concave, between the points 42 and 44 is imperforate, but from the point 44 rearwardly to the point 49, the member 31 is provided with parallel elongate slots 43 (Fig. 8) designed to receive the saw blades. This portion of the device constitutes the grate-fall. The lower forward portion of this combined concave and grate-fall rests upon and is supported by the rail 3. Preferably the concave 31, with that portion thereof which forms the grate-fall, is smooth and polished on its interior surface.

The saw cylinder, carried by the shaft 9, is provided with saws 45 and intervening spacers 45a but, as illustrated in Fig. 5, the teeth T of the saws are unlike the usual teeth of the cylinder of a delinter gin, being substantially symmetrical and of isosceles triangular form.

The doier brush 46, carried by the shaft I0, acts to remove the lint from the teeth of the saw blades, the parts being so arranged that the doffer brush and saw cylinder deliver the lint, suspended in a lint-conveying air current, in a downward direction substantially as indicated by the line C Fig. 3.

Within the space between the approaching surfaces of the saw cylinder and doifer brush is a vertical division-board 41 here shown as integral with rail 4. This division-board is downwardly beveled and preferably provided with a metal covering which is smooth and polished. The space forwardly of the roll-box is normally closed by means of a breast-board 49 which is hinged at the point 50 and which, when standing in its normal substantially vertical position, cooperates with the lower part of the grate-fall to provide a pocket for the collection of seed which escapes through the slots in the rake-head. Preferably the breast-board 49 is of sheet metal and is provided with lateral ianges which overlap the sides of the frame members I and 2. Suitable means, for example a spring or clasp (not shown) may be used for holding the breast-board 49 in this normal upright position, but when it is desired to dump the seed from the pocket, the breast-board may be turned downwardly about the pivot point 50, and when in downwardly and forwardly inclined position constitutes a delivery spout which guides the escaping seed in a predetermined desired direction.

In the space below the saw cylinder there is arranged a mote-board 53 which is inclined downwardly and forwardly and which lies directly in the path of the lint-carrying air current delivered by the brush and saw cylinder. After moving downwardly as indicated lby the line C, the lintsustaining air current then turns upwardly and rearwardly and enters an upwardly and rearwardly sloping passage 54 defined lby rearward ex tensions lx and 2X of the frame members and 2, and by top and bottom members 55 and 56 secured to the extensions IX and 2X. The space above the doifer brush, between the parts 4 and 56 is closed air-tight by a sheet metal housing 51a. At the lower edge of the member 55 there is provided a division member 51 having a beveled front edge, such front edge being spaced a slight distance above the rear edge of the mote-board 53. The slope of the mote-board is such as to cause heavy particles such as sand to rebound in a forward direction while somewhat lighter particles, such as pieces of leaf or hull pass upwardly and rearwardly through the space between the division member 51 and the upper edge of the mote-board, while the very light lint passes up above the division member 51 into the passage 54.

The sand, leaf and hull particles fall into a drawer 58 which is disposed between the frame members I and `2 and which is provided with a pull 59 at its forward end by means of which it may conveniently be withdrawn from between the frame members l and 2. part of this drawer is provided with an upwardly flaring funnel device 60 so arranged that if desired, the seed delivered by the downwardly inclined breast-board 49 is received in this funnel and delivered into the drawer 58.

The lint-conveying passage 54 leads into a lintcollecting chamber 6I whose upper part is formed by a sheet metal housing 62 which is rigidly but removably clamped to the extensions IX and 2X. The upper wall of this housing 62 is preferably downwardly concave, and its rear edge is secured to a rigid part 63 which may be of wood or metal as desired. The housing may be provided with suitable supports S designed to support it when unclamped and removed from the frame members I and 2.

Within the lower portion of the housing 62 is arranged a drawer 64 having a pull 65 by means of which it may conveniently be withdrawn rearf."

wardly. This drawer has a bottom 66 of foraminous material, the bottom member preferably curving upwardly and rearwardly as shown in 61 and merging smoothly with a rear wall 68. Preferably the drawer also has foraminous side walls 69.

The float roll 1U (Fig. 6) carried by the shaft 8 preferably comprises four blades 1l, each of elongate rectangular form and of a width substantially exceeding the diameter of the of the shaft 8. These blades are arranged tangentially to the shaft at points 90 apart respectively and are preferably welded to the shaft at the tangent points 12. The inner edge of each blade preferably abuts the face of the next blade and is welded to the latter as indicated at 13. These blades are of sheet metal and of sucent stiffness and rigidity to perform the desired function but the float-roll thus constructed is simple and Y light in weight and easy to manufacture.

Preferably, the forward 'Ihe saw cylinder (Fig. '1) comprises the shaft 9 integral with a body portion 14 which is of substantially larger diameter than the end portions which turn in the journal bearings. 'Ihe ends of the body portion are externally screw threaded for the reception of a pair of internally screw threaded abutment collars 16. The body portion is longitudinally splined at 15 for the reception of the key members K (Fig. 5) which project into the central openings of the saws and for the reception of similar key members carried by the spacer elements 45a. The saws and spacers are placed on the body portion on the shaft in alternation, and are then clamped together by means of the collars 16.

In operation, the cover member 29 is first swung backward and a sample of seed is introduced into the roll-box by dumping it into the feed hopper from which it falls through the opening between the shafts 25 and 26 into the roll-box. Before introducing the seed into the hopper, the sample is very carefully weighed, for example by means of a chemical balance, a 500 gram sample being useful in making the determination. After the seed has been introduced into the roll-box, the cover 29 is allowed to swing downwardly and permitted to rest upon the mass of seed in the 'box with substantial pressure. Since the weight 36 tends to swing the lower part of the seed-board 32 inwardly and rearwardly, the seed-board also exerts compression upon the seed in the roll-box, and as the parts 29 and 32 are thus constantly urged inwardly, the mass of seed in the roll-box is kept under constant pressure and at substantially the same density during the entire operation, even though the volume of the roll of seed is constantly diminishing.

With the understanding that the breast-board 49 is now in the vertical position; that the drawers 58 and 64 are in place; and that the oatroll,lsaw cylinder, and doffer are rotating at the proper speeds, the saws of the cylinder act to remove lint from the seed in the roll-box as the seed roll is presented to the saws by the float-roll, and the useful lint together with the motes is delivered downwardly in the direction of the line C toward the mote-board 53. As above suggested, the arrangement of the mote-board, the division member 51 and the passage 54 is such that motes are caused to drop into the drawer 58 while the useful lint is swept up the passage 54 by the air current and into the chamber 6l. vIn the chamber 6l the air current forms a swirl which sweeps the lint rearwardly and downwardly along the inner surface of the housing 62 and downwardly and forwardly along the foraminous wall 61. The air escapes through the sides and bottom'of the drawer 64 and the lint gradually builds up within the drawer, usually in the form of a loose but substantially coherent roll L.

After the apparatus has been permitted to act for a definite predetermined length of time it is stopped. 'The seed-board 32 is swung forwardly by lifting the lever 35, thus permitting any seed remaining in the roll-box to drop into the pocket behind the breastbox 49. The latter may now be swung downwardly and forwardly and the seed from the roll-box and pocket may be delivered into any desired receptacle or permitted Vto `drop into the drawer 58, as may be desired. The

drawer 64 is pulled rearwardly and the lint within the drawer is removed and carefully weighed. If

` desired the motes in the drawer 58 and also the seed dumped from the roll-box may be weighed and the combined weights of the lint, motes and seed compared with the weight of the sample initially placed in the roll-box. The percentage of mechanically removable lint carried by the original sample may thus be accurately determined. Instead of combining the seed dumped from the roll-box at the end of the operation with the niotes in the drawer 58, such seed may be removed separately and if desired, combined with fresh seed to form a new sample, and thus, in a series of runs of the apparatus, the average of the mechanically removable lint may be very accurately determined.

While the essential elements concerned in removing the lint from the seed are similar in general to those employed in the ordinary de-linter gin (which is a desirable feature, if the apparatus is to indicate with any real accuracy, the results to be expected from the o-peration of the gin itself) nevertheless the present apparatus differs essentially from the usual yde-linter gin. In its capability of handling a very small sample of seed and of removing from such sample substantially all of the useful lint, and in its mode of operation, it diiers very materially from that of the commercial size de-linter gin. In the latter a constant iiow of seed is expected to enter the rollbox and, unless the roll-box is kept substantially full, the gin will not function properly, since no provision is made for maintaining a proper density of the roll in the roll-box, except when the box is substantially lled. Moreover, the ordinary de-linter gin would be incapable of separating so small a quantity of lint from the air with any degree of accuracy or any probability that the lint so separated could be collected for weighing without such substantial loss as to make the determinations valueless.

While one desirable embodiment of the invention has herein been illustrated by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise arrangement but is to be regarded as broadly inclusive of any and all equivalent constructions coming within the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. Apparatus for testing the amount of mechanically removable lint on ginned cottonseed, said apparatus comprising a saw-cylinder comprising saws having radial teeth of substantially iscsceles triangular shape, dofling means and means for actuating the saw cylinder and defi-ing means, a rollbox and a iioat-roll therein, the rollbox having a wall which comprises a top portion or cover and a front portion, each of said portions being hinged to swing about a horizontal axis, the axis about which the front wall portion swings being at the upper edge of said wall and adjacent to the free front edge of the cover portion and means tending to swing the free edges of said hinged portions inwardly toward the axis of the float roll thereby to compress the roll of seed in the box.

2. Apparatus for testing the amount of mechanically removable lint on ginned cottonseed, said apparatus comprising a saw-cylinder and dofiing means and means for actuating them, a roll-box and a float-roll therein, the roll-box having a rearwardly concave front wall and a downwardly concave cover, the front wall being hinged at its upper edge and the top wall being hinged near its rear edge, and weights tending constantly to swing the free edges of the cover and the front wall inwardly, the cover being capable of being lifted to permit entry of seed into the box.

3. Apparatus for use in the experimental determination of the percentage of mechanically removable lint on ginned cottonseed, said apparatus including a saw-cylinder, doing means, and a roll-box whose entire front wall is constituted by a unitary rearwardly concave seedboard of sheet material hinged at its upper edge, the lower portion of said seed-board being provided with parallel slots open at their rear ends, said slotted portion constituting a rake-head, and means tending constantly to swing the seed-board rearwardly about its upper edge.

4. Apparatus for testing the amount of mechanically removable lint on ginned cottonseed, said apparatus comprising a saw-cylinder and dofling means and means for actuating them, a roll-box and a loat-roll therein, a grate-fall cooperating with the saws, a normally stationary, removable mote-collecting receptacle below the saw, doing means, and a normally stationary, removable lint-collecting compartment having foraminous walls.

5. In apparatus for removing useful lint from ginned cottonseed, a roll-box comprising a concave consisting of a unitary piece of sheet metal whose upper portion is of substantially circular curvature in vertical section, the lower part of the concave being substantially straight, and inclining downwardly and forwardly, means supporting the lower edge of said concave, the concave having therein a plurality of elongate parallel slots perpendicular to said latter edge of 4the concave and each extendingv from a point spaced rearwardly from said edge substantially to the place where said curvature begins, said slotted portion constituting a grate-fall, a seedboard also consisting of a unitary piece of sheet metal of substantially circular curvature in ver- -ftical section, the lower portion of the seed-board being provided with parallel slots perpendicular -to its lower edge, the slotted portion constitu-ting a rake-head, and hinge means supporting the seed-board to swing about its upper edge, the inner surfaces of the concave and the seed-board being smooth and polished.

6. Apparatus for removing useful lint from ginned cottonseed comprising a saw-cylinder, a doier brush, and means for driving them, a lint-collecting housing having `a curved upper wall, a removable drawer at the lower portion of the housing, said drawer having foraminous side and bottom walls, the bottom wall merging smoothly and in an upwardly concave curve with a rear wall,v and means whereby the drawer may be withdrawn to permit access to its contents.

7. Apparatus for use in the experimental determination of the percentage of mechanically removable lint on ginned cottonseed, said apparatus including a saw-cylinder, a rollebox, a grate-fall, doling means, and means for driving the cylinder and dofiing means, the parts being so designed and arranged that the lint removed by the saws is delivered in a downwardly directed current of air, an inclined mote-board arranged within the path of said air current, means defining an upwardly and rearwardly directed passage for the lint, and a division-board at the lower end of said passage, the mcte-board and division-board being spaced apart and so designed and arranged that heavy particles engaging the mote-board move forwardly and downwardly while hull particles engaging the board move rearwardly between the mote-and division-boards as the lint-carrying air current moves upwardly into said passage. i

i8. Apparatus for testing the amount of mechanically removable lint in a weighed sample of ginned cottonseed, said apparatus comprising a roll-box for the reception of said sample,`the roll-box having a cover designed normally to press downwardly upon the roll of seed in the box, a saw-cylinder, grate-fall, and dofer brush, means for rotating the cylinder and brush, the brush and cylinder being so related as to deliver the lint in a lint-suspending air current substantially vertically downward, a mote-board which slopes upwardly and rearwardly, said board being so located as to deilect the air current and suspended lint upwardly and rearwardly while causing heavy particles to move downwardly and forwardly, a normally stationary removable receptacle for collecting motes, means providing an upwardly and rearwardly directed passage for the lint-carrying air current, and a housing into which said current is delivered, said housing having a normally stationary, removable lint-collecting receptacle in its lower part.

9. Apparatus for testing the amount of mechanically removable lint in a weighed sample of ginned cottonseed, said apparatus comprising a roll-box for the reception `of said sample, the roll-box having a cover designed normally to press downwardly upon the roll lof seed in the boX, a saw-cylinder, grate-fall, and dofer brush, means for rotating the cylinder land brush, the brush and cylinder being so related as to deliver the lint in a lint-suspending air current substantially vertically downward, a mote-board which slopes upwardly and rearwardly, said board being so located as to deflect the air current and suspended lint upwardly and rearwardly while causing heavy particles to move downwardly and forwardly, a normally stationary, removable receptacle for collecting motes, means providing an upwardly and rearwardly directed passage for the lint-carrying air current, and means providing a chamber into which said current is delivered; said chamber having foraminous walls `and being so constructed and contoured as to cause the lint which deposits from the air current to form a coherent roll in the lower part of the chamber.

:10. Apparatus for testing the amount of mechanically removable lint in Ia weighed sample of ginned cottonseed, said `apparatus comprising a roll-box for the reception of said sample, the roll-box having a cover designed normally to press downwardly upon the roll of seed in the box, a saw-cylinder, grate-fall, `and doffer brush, means for rotating the cylinder and'brush, the brush and cylinder being so related as to deliver the lint in a lint-suspending air current substantially vertically downward, a mote-board which slopes upwardly and rearwardly, said board being so located as to deflect the air current and suspended lint upwardly and rearwardly While causing heavy particles to move downwardly and forwardly, a normally stationary removable receptacle for collecting motes, means providing an upwardly and rearwardly directed passage for the lint-carrying air current, and a stationary housing into which said current is delivered, said housing having provision for allowing the escape of air while retaining the lint, the housing hav- 'ing a curved upper wall and a curved rear wall so constructed and arranged as to cause the lint which deposits from the air current to form a coherent roll.

11. Apparatus for use in the experimental ydetermination of the percentage of mechanically removable lintl on ginned cottonseed, said apparatus including a saw cylinder, a roll-box, dofng means and a downwardly and forwardly sloping grate-fall whose front portion is imperforate 4and constitutes a fioor for a receptacle for de-linted seed which escapes through the rake-head, said receptacle also having a normally substantially vertical front wall, said'wall being hinged and capable of being swung downwardly substantially about the lower edge of the gratefall thereby to permit the seed to escape from the receptacle and to guide the escaping seed in a predetermined direction.

12. Apparatus for use in the experimental determination of the percentage of Ymechanically removable lint on ginned cot-tonseed, said apparatus including a saw cylinder, dofng means and a roll-box, the latter including a unitary forwardly concave rear wall having an integral, forwardly and downwardly sloping extension which is imperforate lat its forward part and which is provided rearwardly of its front edge portion with parallel slots, the slotted portion constituting a grate-full, and a seed delivery spout normally extending upwardly from the lower edge of the grate-fall and which, with the imperforate forward portion of the latter, provides a pocket for the collection of de-linted seed, said delivery spout being movable from its normal upright position to a forwardly and downwardly inclined dumping position such as to cause seed accumulated in the pocket to flow out in a predetermined direction.

13. Apparatus for removing useful lint from ginned cottonseed comprising a saw-cylinder, a doffer brush, and means for driving them, a grate-fall having a downwardly sloping forward portion constituting a floor for a seed-collecting receptacle, a movable member normally cooperating with said lower part of the grate-fall t0 form the front wall of said receptacle, and a removable receptacle for motes, said movable member being so constructed and arranged as to permit it to be swung to a position wherein it constitutes a guide for seeds being delivered from the seed-collecting receptacle in-to the mote-receiving receptacle.

HERMAN C. GRAEBE. 

